Sadler was the first child of a physician. He excelled in the study of classics at Trinity College, Oxford. He served as secretary of the Oxford University Extension lectures subcommittee from 1885 to 1895 and as steward of Christ Church, Oxford, from 1886 to 1895. Under his leadership the extension grew enormously, offering nearly 400 courses all over England.

Sadler recognized that the university extension was handicapped by failings at the secondary level. His study of secondary education in the United States (1891–92) led to a conference on the subject held at Oxford in 1893. Shortly thereafter, Sadler served on the Royal Commission appointed to investigate and report on secondary education.

In 1895 Sadler left Oxford to become director of Special Inquiries and Reports in the government’s Education Department. At that post he built up an enormous literature on comparative education, almost single-handedly creating a new branch of the study of education. He also improved the Education Department’s library and made his office a source of educational information to British and non-British alike. When he resigned in 1903, Sadler was internationally renowned as an expert on comparative education.

He spent the next eight years teaching, writing, and seeking to improve secondary education. In 1911 Sadler became vice chancellor of the University of Leeds, greatly increasing its faculty, students, and academic stature. Starting in 1917 he served for two years as president of the Calcutta University Commission, and in 1919 Sadler returned to Leeds. He was knighted the same year.

Sadler accepted his final academic post as master of University College, Oxford, in 1923. In 1934 he retired, turning his attention to speeches on education. Sadler was also known for his extensive art collection and for his generous patronage of emerging artists.

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